I’ve always believed that dogs would eat anything and everything, and that cats were finicky eaters. As my time with cats has grown, I’ve learned that some cats have some very unusual food preferences.
My black cat, Rama, is one of these cats — he goes completely crazy for lettuce. I understand that lots (maybe all) cats crave greens. But Rama takes it a step further, as you’ll see!
Not just any lettuce — the greener, the better
Rama has inherited my lettuce snobbishness. We rarely have iceberg in the house (I hate it and I don’t grow it), but if we show it to him, he’s not the least bit interested. However, show him a bit of kale, dark green lettuce, or mustard greens, and he goes nuts! If I’m not careful, he’ll eat the salad right out of my salad bowl.
Like Mama, like Rama — organic is best
The health food store is 37 miles away from home here. We have a short growing season as well. If I can’t grow organic and I can’t get to the health food store, sometimes I am forced to buy regular lettuce at the nearest store. But Rama never seems to be crazy about the ordinary lettuce, even if it’s a dark (non-iceberg) variety. Organic it must be!
The produce bag is the clue
Our health food store has biodegradable produce bags, which make a nice crinkling noise when opened or filled. Somehow, Rama knows the unique sound of this type of bag. All I have to do is handle the bag, and he is there, next to me, wanting lettuce. Somehow he’s learned that the special crinkling bag usually means lettuce. It puts me in mind of Pavlov’s dogs, or cats.
Don’t load the grocery bags with the lettuce on top!
I’ve made this mistake before. If I come home with grocery bags and the lettuce is on top, I can’t let the bag out of my sight. Rama will dig right in and start grabbing luscious dark lettuce leaves with his mouth. Perhaps he was a rabbit in a former life.
You would think he was starving, but nothing is further from the truth. Rama is a big, well-fed boy. Maybe more lettuce for this guy would be a good thing!
Hand-fed is best!
However, nothing matches Rama’s joy when he gets to eat good lettuce straight from my hand. If I hold onto one end of a small piece of fresh lettuce, he’ll rip at it from the other end, and swallow. This works for a while, and he may eat the whole thing. If I drop a half-eaten piece on the floor, he often loses interest. Perhaps it’s not fresh enough. Fussy fussy.
I have no doubt that Rama will never get over his love for dark leafy lettuce or other similar greens. He goes nuts for this food in a way I’ve never seen any of my other cats demonstrate.
What about your cats? Do they have strange human foods that they love? Share your stories in the comments!
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